2022 Backyard Birds - 4/28/2022

These photos were actually taken last Saturday, the day before Easter.  I would expect that I will have more posts this spring as birds pass through our neighborhood.  My goal is to get migrating birds that are only here a few days each year.  We are so lucky to have a large park bordering our backyard.

Okay, this isn't a bird.  This is Miles, our favorite neighborhood cat.  He likes birds too.

This is the glamor shot without a mouth full of food.

I added this extra photo to show how sloppy birds are when they eat at  a feeder.  Five seeds hit the ground for the one in his mouth.  Not a problem since we have roving herds of wild turkeys who pick up the dropped seeds.  Sometimes, the deer get there before the turkeys.

This Bluebird got some protein to go with the seeds.

Female and male Cardinals share the feeder box.

Carl's Midwest Soccer Tournament - 3/27/2022

My cousin, Myrt Carlson's grandson, Carl Wilson, played in a soccer tournament last Sunday at the Scheels Soccer Complex in Overland Park, Kansas.  His mom, Sonya Wilson accompanied him on his adventure.  It was also an adventure for Sigrid and me to attend the game.  This was our first live soccer game other than seeing the US Women's team play years ago at Arrowhead Stadium.  All of the members of this branch of my family tree live in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The tournament ran from Friday through Sunday and had teams from a number of midwestern cities.  Carl's team took second place so there was much to celebrate on the way back home.  The weather was nice but a bit chilly and windy.  The photos below are from the first of two games that Carl's team played on Sunday.  They won this game 1 - 0.

Carl wears the Number 36 jersey.

The Scheels Complex is one of the best in the midwest

Half time

The post game celebration

A team photo with everyone wearing their Silver Medals.

Carl and Sigrid.

John, Carl, and Sigrid

Carl and mom Sonya

Arrowhead Flyover by A-10's at the Chiefs-Bengals Playoff Game - 1/30/2022

 I have had several chances to photo the B2 as it circled over our house before doing its overfly of Arrowhead. Yesterday, the A10's were doing the overfly but they use a different flight path that doesn't include our house.

After scouting several locations near the stadium, I could not find a suitable place to shoot from that wouldn't be impacted by the game traffic. So, I used Google Maps to work backwards from Arrowhead to see what areas would have to be overflown to reach the stadium. I found that the Raytown Middle School at 47th and Pittman Road looked promising. It turned out to be almost too good.

The schools large parking lot and lack of nearby trees was great. The real question was where exactly would the planes appear. Unlike the B2 which circled several times over our house, the A10's would be a one time opportunity that wouldn't last very long.

There were several other photographers in the lot waiting for the planes. The guy next to me saw them first and alerted me to where they were. The planes actually flew directly over our heads which was not ideal. I would have preferred to get photos from the side so more of the planes bodies would be visible. Next year I will set up in a different part of the parking lot.

This small plane was providing the overhead shoots of the stadium that blimps usually do.

The A-10s had various kinds of missiles and bombs mounted on the wings to demonstrate their capabilities. I am sure that they were safe and most likely used for training purposes.

Flying away towards Arrowhead Stadium.

3Scott Browning, Lee Osmond and 1 other